A former Goldman Sachs banker has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.
Last April a jury convicted Roger Ng, a former banker, of conspiring to violate U.S. anti-corruption laws and to launder money for his role in a multibillion-dollar bribery and money laundering scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
As part of the scheme, Ng and his co-conspirators paid more than US$1 billion in bribes to senior government officials in Malaysia in exchange for lucrative bond underwriting business from the government.
Those deals generated approximately US$600 million in revenue for Goldman Sachs, and Ng received US$35 million for his role in those deals, which resulted in more than US$2.7 billion being misappropriated from the fund.
On Thursday, Ng was ordered to spend 10 years in prison for his part in the scandal.
“Roger Ng was a central player in a brazen and audacious scheme that not only victimized the people of Malaysia but also undermined the public’s confidence in governments, markets, businesses and other institutions on a global scale,” said Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a release.
“Today’s sentence serves as a just punishment for the defendant’s crimes and a stern warning that there is a significant price to pay for corporate corruption,” he said.
In August 2018, another Goldman Sachs banker, Tim Leissner, pled guilty to conspiring to launder money and to violate anti-corruption laws. He agreed to forfeit US$43 million and more than US$200 million in stock, and he is awaiting sentencing.
A wealthy Malayasian socialite who was also charged in the scheme, Low Taek Jho, remains a fugitive.
In October 2020, Goldman Sachs and its Malaysian subsidiary admitted to corruption charges and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that saw it agree to pay more than US$2.9 billion as part of a global resolution with authorities in the U.S., the U.K., Singapore and elsewhere.